


A Song of Spring

by owlmoose



Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: Family, Gen, Genprompt Bingo, Warden Twins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-23
Updated: 2014-01-23
Packaged: 2018-01-09 17:51:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1149032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owlmoose/pseuds/owlmoose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bethany and Carver Hawke remember home. Warden Twins AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Song of Spring

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Genprompt Bingo, for the prompt "Songs From Childhood". Set in an AU where Bethany and Carver both join the Grey Wardens.

The lilting notes of the bone flute filled the night air, jumping and dancing through their simple melody. It was not a song Bethany had ever heard before, and she leaned back on her hands and watched the stars as she listened.

The night was comfortably warm, but the Grey Wardens on patrol had built a campfire anyway, for cooking, and to keep the wild animals away. After dinner, someone had suggested music as a way to pass the time, and Sigrun had been the first to volunteer. It was a cheerful tune, light and friendly. She finished, and Bethany lowered her chin, smiling at her. “That’s lovely. What is it?”

”A drinking song, what else?” Sigrun set the flute in her lap and grinned. “Most traditional dwarven songs are drinking songs.”

Carver, who was sitting on Bethany’s other side, snorted. “Why am I not surprised?”

"Because you know Oghren," Sigrun promptly replied, and laughter broke out around the fire. Across from her, Oghren scowled, but she only winked back, then looked at the Hawke twins. "So, how about you guys? Know any good Ferelden tunes?"

Carver looked down at Bethany. “I don’t know if it was from Ferelden, but do you remember that song Mother used to sing?” He gestured toward Sigrun. “The song Sigrun just played reminds me of it.”

"I think I know the one you mean. The one about spring?" Carver nodded, and Bethany tapped her toe against the ground as she thought, trying to get the rhythm of it in her head. She took a deep breath and then began, softly, to sing:

"Springtime showers bring the flowers  
Flowers that bloom all summer long  
So think of flowers  
To—” and she stopped, the words flying from her mind, her throat closing up with images of her mother, of the hurt in her eyes as she and Carver had walked away with Garrett, leaving her all alone in Kirkwall.

A steady hand fell on her shoulder as Carver’s voice, picked up the melody. “So think of flowers, to pass the hours…”

She looked up at him, caught his blue eyes staring encouragingly into hers, and she joined back in with him on the last line: “Though the storm is loud and strong.”

They sang it through once more together, then shifted into a round, Bethany first and Carver following, three times through as was their tradition. They could have been home again, sitting on the hearth in Lothering on a cold stormy night, raising their voices against a winter storm. The only thing missing was Garrett’s deep baritone, chasing after them.

When they finished, a hush fell, with only the crackling of the fire to break the silence. A moment later, Nathaniel Howe coughed, then looked up and caught Bethany’s eye. “That’s a lovely poem,” he said. “I recognize the tune, but not the words. So it’s not a Ferelden song?”

"I don’t think so," Bethany replied. "Our mother was from Kirkwall. So her childhood songs were different."

"Ah, that would explain it." Nathaniel sat up straighter. "Would you like to hear our version?"

"Yes, please." Bethany leaned forward, propping her arms on her knees and listened as Nathaniel began to sing, Carver’s hand still warm on her back.


End file.
